Flying wing



Apri121, 1931.

w. w. CHRISTMAS FLYING WING Filed June 28, 1929 {Sheets-Sheet 1 April 21, 1931.

W. W. CHRISTMAS FLYING WING 2 Sheelis-Shet 2 Filed June 28, 1929 gwomkvb- Patented Apr. 21, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM WHITNEY CHRISTMAS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO THE GENERAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT,

A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT FLYING 'WLN G Application filed June 28,

My invention relates to the art of aviation and has for its object the production of an improved aeroplane for commercial and military use, having increased carrying capacity, speed, and safety factors over previously designed planes of its class.

I attain my object byemploying what I may briefly designate as a flying wing, without any fuselage. The machine consists essentially of one continuous wing of suflicient dimensions to permit passengers, freight, and engines to be housed within it, framed on a double cruciform girder structure, having opposite trusses extending from tip to tip and other parallel trusses extending fore and aft from points in advance of the leading edge to the tail group. The pilots station or control room is in a pilot house attached at the middle of the leading edge of the plane. Compartments or boots which may contain fuel or provide storage for other purposes are formed in the supports for the landing gears, which are located beneath the parallel fore and aft truss members of the frame, and are directly connected to and. built into the same. Each of these fore and aft trusses carries a power plant. Propulsion is by two or more propellers, each having a shaft journalled in said fore and aft trusses, and these two trusses support the tail group comprising an elevator, a stabilizer and a plurality of rudders. The mug is shaped in a manner which will be described hereinafter, and carries ailerons on its trailing edge at opposite extremities.

Increased carrying capacity is attained by increasing the all over dimensions of the plane, whereby its vertical dimension or thickness is rendered suflicient to give storage space and carrying space between the upper and lower members of the aerofoil. In other words, passengers, engines and freight are carried within the body of the wing, which may be upwards of '7 feet high with other dimensions proportionate thereto. Greater speed is attained not only by reducing the air resistance, but by increasing the available engine power. Greater safety is attained because a monoplane of this type is very stable and all parts including the Weight car- 1929. Serial No. 374,449.

ried, are balanced. Owing to the increased s1ze necess1ta-ted by the design, as well as the increased power, the machine can fly in any weather without danger of mishap and as all parts of the engines are immediately available and within reach of the engineers at all times, the danger of forced landings due to engine trouble is practically eliminated.

My invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of my improved aeroplane;

Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively front and side elevations.

Referring to the drawings, A is the aerofoil or wing which is framed on an extended double cruciform cantilever truss having opposite members extending from one tip a to the other tip a, and parallel fore and aft members extending from a point in advance of the leading edge to the tail group. The central portion a of this wing has the leadm edge and the trailing edge parallel or su stantially so. The extended portions of the wing on the other hand, are preferably tapered as shown in Fig. 1, the front .or

trary and may be varied without departing from the invention. The two projecting wings a-a are so built and proportioned as to form a dihedral angle, with the central portion (1 of the truss extending in a horizontal 'lane between them. Extending fore and a parallel with each other, and crossing the wing spars or trusses, are the fore and aft trusses OO. The structure of these and of the main truss A will be presently described more in detail, but at thispoint it is only necessary to say that the fore and aft trusses are in box form and at their rear ends carry the tail group T including stabilizer truss T, elevator E, and rudders R BR In order to prevent v and vertical planes.

warping, transverse strain or longitudinal vibration of these parts, a pair of diagonal cables CC' are secured from points cc' to a common point so as to stiffen the entire structure.

It is not intended in the present application, as it forms no direct part of the present invention,to describe the detailed mechanical structure of the main win or aerofoil and the fore and aft trusses. T stated however that both are built of assembled units of tubing or other material best suited to thepurpose which may be for example chrome molybdenum steel, varying in' diameter from 3 to 5 inches for the larger parts and down to 7 inch for the smallest parts. These tubes are made in standard sections, are assembled by means of couplings to form a reticulated frame uniform in every direction and cross braced diagonally of the truss in both horizontal The present design is not intended for small ships, the approximate dimensions of one type of unit being for example as follows:

Span over all from tip a, to a 230 feet.

Depth of chord, middle section a 1s 53 feet.

Depth of chord wing tips aa 25 feet.

Center section a 40 feet by 53 feet,

The fore and aft trusses OO in box form, 7 feet by 7 feet, in widest section, tapering to 5 feet by 2% feet at the tail group, and 3 feet by 3 feet at each propeller.

.Height of plane from ground to top. of middle section a (see Fig. 2) 28 feet.

Height of plane fr'om ground to underside of middle section (1*, 20 feet, 9 Inches.

Height of plane at wing tips 'aa 35 feet.

The tail group T, with the exceptionrof.

the stabilizer T, which is built and assembled similarly to the'body of the aerofoil and 45 the fore an aft trusses, are of known or any suitable construction and are operated by controls worked in any suitable manner, as by means of a hand wheel to moving the elevator in its fore and aft motion, the ailerons in its side motion, and the rudders in its rotary motion. The wheel w 'is located in the pilots control station which may be located on the leading edge of the central section a of the plane or within the same, so that the pilot may have a clear view at all times. i

A characteristic feature of this plane lies in the supports S-S' for the landing gear connected at L- -L. These supports S-S are of any suitable material, including metal and wood, forming boxes or tanks which from their dimensions and location are well adapted to carry quantities of fuel or other material to'be transported. These supports S-S are parallel, and-lie beneath the part should be allel fore and aft trusses O-Oinwhich the englnes are carried, being built into the same and into the main wing trusses or spars so as to form part of the main cruciform struc- 1 side of the fore and aft trusses can also perform the same function. The motors are enclosed in the spaces within the fore and aft trusses where they cross the main wing spars or trusses. Two or more of these motors may point forwardly and one or more may point 1 to the rear, with a master gear between them meshing with pinions or gears on the res ec tive motor shafts, which may be thrown into and out of engagement at will by the engineer. For this purpose any known or suitable form of clutch may be provided, or if desired, the gearing may be direct, the main shaft of each propeller extending back past the forward motor and being connected to the master gear, so that it may receive power from 1, 2, 3 or more engines at will. In the machine described, the propellers have a diameter of 30 or more feet and operate at a maximum speed of 400 R. P. M. or more.

The front or leading edge of the central section a? is provided with windows of nonshatterable glass in metal frames, as indicated at Gin Figs. 1 and 2. The upper part of the entering edge is preferably solid, in

common with the rest of the surface of the wing oraerofoil, which; is adapted to resist all weather conditions, a suitable covering for this purpose being for example, veneered wood sheathing covered with stainless steel.-

The vertical dimensions between the upper and lower surface of the central. section a of the wing being-approximately 7 feet, 6 inches and the area of this central section being approximately 2100 square feet, there is ample space and head room for the location of seats for upwards'of 55 passengers, with rest rooms, d1n1ng room, smoking rooms, cabins, and other conveniences customary on cruising ships. The glass windows G in their metal frames, afforda clear view at all times for the (passengers and the weight is where is shoul be, to stabilize the plane.

The cruising speed of this machine is from r, 85 to 130 miles per hour, and its landing speed is approximately 41 miles per hour, the landing being rendered safe and easy by the large wing area and the relative. close approach of the entire area to the earth, which produces air compression with consequent rapid deceleration. What I claim is 1. An aeroplane of the type described, framed on a double cruciform girder structure composed ofopposite' truss members or VA/ spars extending from tip to tip of the plane, and parallel fore and aft truss members each extending continuously without a break from a point in advance of the leading edge of the plane to the tail group, each built directly and integrally into the structure of the wing trusses or spars, a power plant housed in the space within each of said fore and aft trusses, a propeller shaft therein driven by each power plant, propellers supported on outboard bearings at the forward ends of said trusses, and a parallel pair of landing legs extending fore and aft beneath said fore. and aft trusses,integrally connected therewith and built thereinto, the main wing trusses or spars extending parallel to the ground and horizontally between the said arallel fore' and aft trusses, and the projecting ortions of the wing structure outside of said ore and aft trusses inclinin upwardly to form a dihedral angle, toget er with a skin secured over said framing to cover the outer surfaces of the aerofoil and of the fore and aft trusses,

and diagonal bracin throu bout the fram- 5 ing and surfaces of t e aero oil, whereby all strains on com onent parts of the structure are transmitte and taken ug uniforml by the cruciform frame and the raced sur aces and whereby in landing strains due thereto are also uniformly distributed without concentrated strain on any particular art, while the main frame is relieved of all s ock due to the masses of the power plants.

2. The aeroplane described in claim 1, with the additional element of a pilot house hun in the space between the parallel fore an aft truss members so as to have clear vision between the same beneath the plane.

In testimony whereof'I hereunto afiix my 40 wa WHITNEY omusrms. 

